cook up

phrasal verb

cooked up; cooking up; cooks up

1

: to prepare (food) for eating especially quickly

I can cook up some hamburgers.

He cooked this whole meal up in less than 30 minutes.

2

: to invent (something, such as an idea, excuse, etc.) to deal with a particular situation

They cooked up a scheme to fool their neighbor.

You'll have to cook an excuse up quickly.

Examples of cook up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Showrunner Shawn Ryan is already cooking up plans for season 4. —Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Feb. 2026

Made with just three ingredients—tortellini, broth, and (at least in my version) spinach or other greens—this warming dish cooks up in minutes. —Elizabeth Brownfield, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2026

The script by Ross Evans and Yumiko Aoyagi was inspired by an original idea cooked up by Charli and Miike, with Charli producing through her studio365 banner. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2026

Her management team cooked up a story about her getting hit by a car door in a windstorm. —CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for cook up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup